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About
Greater Houston
Disaster Alliance
With over 35 years of combined experience leading disaster recovery efforts, Greater Houston Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Houston formed the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance in 2023 to ensure the region has the networks and systems in place to accelerate recovery effectively in times of disaster.
Through an initial investment from Enbridge and Phillips 66, the Disaster Alliance catalyzes public and private partnerships and brings year-round focus to disaster preparedness and resiliency to reduce the harms caused by disaster on our most vulnerable residents.
Our Mission
To lead our community’s philanthropic disaster response, strengthen year-round preparedness, and ensure our region has the networks and systems in place to respond rapidly and effectively in times of disaster.
Our Vision
Building a more vibrant and resilient region to address the needs of our most vulnerable neighbors in times of disaster.
Phase One:
What We Focused On
Over its first three years, the Disaster Alliance built and activated a high-functioning, collaborative disaster recovery system that significantly strengthens regional readiness and accelerates support to survivors.
Year 1: We established the Disaster Alliance’s core infrastructure, governance, and partnerships—re-engaging nearly 200 nonprofits and developing streamlined grantmaking processes tested through simulation.
Year 2: The Disaster Alliance demonstrated its capacity in action by rapidly mobilizing in response to two federally declared disasters, disbursing nearly $9 million to 35 nonprofits serving 4,100 households, and reducing grant turnaround time from 34 to 22 days, while advancing data partnerships, piloting innovative service delivery models, and deepening nonprofit and donor engagement.
Year 3: We further enhanced system coordination and long-term resilience by:
- Executing pre-event MOUs to enable grant distribution within as few as 7 days
- Convened over 150 nonprofit staff to build measurable sector-wide readiness
- Invested in our system coordination partner, Connective, to enhance shared technology and coordination infrastructure
- Identified high-need and under-resourced communities through data analysis
- Secured national funding for targeted resilience initiatives
- Contributed to city- and county-level strategy development
With each effort, the Disaster Alliance is positioning the region for more effective disaster recovery.
Phase Two: 2026 - 2029
As the Disaster Alliance looks ahead, with sustained investments from its founding lead sponsors and new investments from JPMorganChase and Texas Mutual Insurance, it is building on progress made thus far and expanding its influence and impact. Grounded in continuous quality improvement, lessons learned, and co-designing with its partners, the Disaster Alliance is refining its approach and advancing key initiatives and measures.
2029 Vision
By the end of Phase Two (2026 – 2029), the Disaster Alliance will:
Key Initiatives
1
Verizon Preparedness & Resilience Workshops
Expand inclusive, community-centered preparedness efforts through multilingual, culturally relevant education and outreach that reaches historically underserved populations.
2
Community Foundation Resilience Network
Advance regional and national resilience initiatives by leveraging strategic funding and cross-sector partnerships to pilot scalable solutions and inform long-term systems change.
3
Transforming Disaster Data & Communications
With an ACT Initiative planning grant, design systems through cross-sector collaboration and community voice that improve coordination, transparency, and decision-making.
4
Hurricane Harvey 10-Year Retrospective
Lead the development of a landmark Hurricane Harvey retrospective assessing a decade of recovery and resilience to inform future investment and policy priorities.
Key Priorities
Maintain Strong Infrastructure
Key Measure: Reduce the cost of technology coordination to strengthen shared infrastructure efficiency.
Key Measure: Deploy initial funds within as few as 7 days of launching a disaster fund.
Key Measure: Use a data-informed approach to direct disaster recovery funding to hard-hit, high-risk zip codes.
- Strengthen and readiness-test the nonprofit network by renewing key MOUs, conducting due diligence reviews, and proactively addressing service gaps to accelerate post-disaster response timelines.
- Operationalize streamlined, data-driven recovery systems by refining coordinated intake, service delivery, and activation processes to enable rapid, precise, and accountable resource deployment.
- Sustain and scale a coordinated system infrastructure through deepened partnership and continued investment in Connective, ensuring both technology readiness and partner proficiency through ongoing blue-sky training.
Strengthen System Preparedness
Key Measure: Establish a baseline assessment to track and drive measurable improvements in disaster readiness and response capacity across the local nonprofit sector.
- Deliver measurable nonprofit capacity building that equips partners with the tools, training, and systems needed to operate effectively before, during, and after disasters.
- Institutionalize a unified partnership framework that aligns stakeholders around shared roles, responsibilities, and strategies across preparedness, recovery, and resilience.
Build Resiliency
Key Measures: As defined for each of the four key initiatives: Harvey Retrospective, Community Foundation Resilience Network, Verizon Preparedness & Resilience Workshops, and Transforming Disaster Data and Communications Systems.
Increase Visibility & Influence
Key Measure: Elevate the Disaster Alliance as a national thought leader through strategic communications and at least six consultations, speaking engagements or publications featuring GHDA.
- Expand funding partnership pipelines to sustain and scale coordinated disaster recovery and resilience efforts.
Before launching the Disaster Alliance, our organizations jointly administered two disaster recovery funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and Winter Storm Uri. Through those joint funds we raised $36M, distributed grants to 109 nonprofit partners that supported the recovery of nearly 110,000 households.
Since launching the Disaster Alliance, we have administered two more disaster recovery funds, in 2024, raising $9.1 million and awarding grants to 35 nonprofit partners who repaired 368 homes and provided emergency financial assistance to more than 12,000 individuals in over 4,100 households.
Households Served
100000
Total Funds Distributed
$
0
Since the early stages of what is now the Greater Houston Disaster Alliance, together with their partners, United Way and the Community Foundation have helped people recover from major hurricanes, floods, winter storms, and a public health emergency, mobilizing philanthropic resources to support nonprofit-led recovery and strengthen our region’s long-term resilience.
